Pineapple Cupcakes
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These pineapple cupcakes are moist, buttery, and loaded with the flavor of fresh pineapple. They are paired perfectly with pineapple buttercream frosting as a tropical treat.
I am a huge fan of fruity desserts – if you have been reading along with this blog for any length of time, this is hardly a newsflash. I want fruit in all my desserts. It’s an obsession that I can’t control.
While I love all fruits, there is something particularly addictive about pineapple. It is juicy, refreshing, bursting with flavor, and tastes like vacation.
When I first came up with my pineapple cupcakes recipe, I made batch after batch to develop the best recipe possible. I had seen the recipes for cupcakes that call for store-bought box cake mix and a can of crushed pineapple. It’s probably delicious, but you know how we do it here. We bake from scratch.
After many attempts, I finally landed on these moist, buttery cupcakes that were bursting with pineapple flavor. Trust me, they are fabulous! They’re even better with pineapple frosting swirled on top!! Or, if you are going for a pina colada vibe, and why wouldn’t you – use my whipped coconut frosting.
This recipe base isn’t limited to making cupcakes. I’ve used the base for my pina colada cupcakes and it turned out amazing. And I did something similar with my pineapple upside-down cake.
Stop what you are doing right now and go bake these cupcakes. It will be the best 30 minutes you’ve ever spent. They are amazing!
Recipe Snapshot
TASTE: Vanilla and pineapple flavored cupcakes.
TEXTURE: Moist, buttery, and fluffy.
EASE: Remarkably easy for how delicious they are.
TIME: Just about a half hour.
What You’ll Need
Ingredients
How to Make Pineapple Cupcakes
It is easy to make these vacation-flavored cupcakes at home, from scratch. They are so much better than any cupcakes you would pick up at the market.
Be sure to check out the full recipe and ingredient list below
- Prepare to bake. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir with a whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy. Turn the mixer to low, beat in the vanilla, and then beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add in the crushed pineapple and its juice. Add the flour mixture, mixing just until combined.
- Bake. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean.
- Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Top with the buttercream frosting of your choice.
Tips For Success
- Measure the flour correctly! Lightly spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level with the back of a knife. For more accurate measurements, it’s best to weigh the ingredients.
- The recipe calls for one 8-ounce can of crushed pineapple. Crushed pineapple will be broken down much more than pineapple chunks. Make sure you are in fact using crushed pineapple.
- Use the entire contents of the can of crushed pineapple. The juice and all the pineapple bits!
Storage & Freezing
Cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Pineapple Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
- 1 ⅔ cups (2216 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ¼ cup (53 g) light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 8 ounces (234 g) crushed pineapple, undrained
For the frosting
- 1 cups (43 g) freeze-dried pineapple
- ¾ cups (170 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 ¾ cups (240 g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
Make the cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir with a whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy. Add the sugar, continue to beat for 3 minutes.
- With the mixer set to low, beat in the vanilla. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Beat in the crushed pineapple and its juice. Add the flour, mixing just until combined.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean.
- Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Top with pineapple buttercream frosting.
Make the frosting
- Using a food processor, grind the freeze-dried pineapple into a fine powder. Sift the powder through a fine-mesh sieve and discard any large bits. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl with a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed until creamy and pale in color, about 5 minutes.
- Add half the confectioners' sugar and beat on low speed just until the sugar has fully moistened, then turn the speed up to medium-high and beat until well incorporated, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the remaining confectioners' sugar and pineapple powder and beat on low speed just until the sugar has fully moistened, then turn the speed up to medium-high and beat until well incorporated, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the vanilla and salt. Turn the mixer on low speed and slowly add 1-2 tablespoons of the heavy cream. Turn the mixer up to medium-high and beat until the cream is well incorporated, about 3-5 minutes. (After 2 minutes stop and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl then continue mixing.)
- Check the consistency of the frosting and add more cream, ½ tablespoon at a time, if needed. The frosting should be soft and spreadable but not so loose that it doesn't hold its shape.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided is for convenience and as a courtesy only. It is not guaranteed to be accurate because nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator and input the exact ingredients and brands you used in the recipe.
Can these be made with a gluten free flour?
I haven’t tried them with gluten free flour. If you usually substitute all-purpose flour with a particular brand of gluten free flour and have great results then it should be fine.
I made them gluten-free using bob’s red mill cup for cup and they turned out great. Couldn’t tell the difference between the two.
That’s great to hear!
Maybe you didn’t follow the recipe correctly. I made it and it was amazing.
My friend wanted me to make him pineapple cupcakes n i never really heard of pineapple cupcakes n Googled. I did test run this past week before making his order. I’ll always b using this recipe! It’s fairly easy n delish! He wanted me to use a banana frosting n I did try but we didn’t care for it. He wants me to try making lemon buttercream, which I’ll b doing. Sprinkling some w/flaked coconut n some without. I don’t understand how this recipe could ever b botched up:(…again,, this recipe is great, especially for the folks in my life that love pineapple!!! Great!!! (Btw I have many requests for coconut cupcakes too n I use barefoot contessa recipe. That frosting can b used too!)
Thank you so much for the feedback, Karen. I’m so happy to hear the cupcakes were a success for you!
do i need to sift the flour?
You do not need to sift the flour.
Hi Jen,
What the best way to store these, fridge or in a tin? Thank you xxx
The cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator up to 4.
I am a baker myself and had very high hopes for these cupcakes. The coconut frosting is amazing but these cupcakes tadtes nothing of pineapple. They were not chock full of pineapple. And they tasted like doigh. I also made the curd to fill these cupcakes with and the curd was watery even after 20 minutes on the stove. And again, not bursting with pineapple flavor.
I’m sorry you didn’t like the recipe. I do respect the fact that everyone has different tastes. A flavor that I taste strongly may not be as intense for someone else. I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback on the recipe so I think it’s just a matter of what each individual person prefers. You’re welcome to use another cupcake recipe next time.
I made these today as part of an overall post for my own blog. They were absolutely delicious! I did skip the frosting, since these were quite nice on their own. Excellent recipe. Glad I found your site. I am thinking of experimenting with this recipe a bit and adding some rum to make pina colada cupcakes. I’ll report back. Thanks again for a great recipe.
I’m so happy you enjoyed the cupcakes, Vanessa! I’ve turned them into Pina Colada Cupcakes using rum extract before. It’s definitely a recipe worth trying out.
I made these and I don’t think they came out quite right. My cupcakes came out dense and moist but they didn’t seem to have raised much and they looked too dense and sucken in a little bit. Can you tell me where I went wrong?
It’s really hard for me to say what went wrong since I wasn’t in the kitchen with you. A number of things could have affected the outcome. If the cupcakes were too dense, perhaps you didn’t measure the flour correctly. One of the main reasons cupcakes sink in the middle is because they haven’t cooked properly. Either the oven temperature was off or you removed them from the oven too soon. Always use a wooden toothpick to check for doneness and bake a little longer if needed.
I used Dole crushed pineapple. You need the entire can plus the juice. For the coconut milk, make sure it isn’t light. It needs to be regular coconut milk from a can. The contents of the can need to be mixed together well before adding it to the frosting. If you have extra batter, don’t waste it. Go ahead and get those extra 4-5 cupcakes!!
Thank you!! Everyone still loved them, but I will make them again. 🙂
I’ve made this as cupcakes and it was wonderful! I’d like to convert it to a sheet cake – what size pan would you suggest, and how long to cook?
Thank you in advance – I am very confident taking this recipe to a friend who LOVES pineapple cake for her ‘moving on’ party.
This recipe should easily fit in a 8 or 9-inch pan. It could take around 20 to 25 minutes to bake but I would start checking for doneness after 15 minutes.